Business.govt.nz

Feeling shaky after the quakes?

It’s normal to feel a bit off-balance after a natural disaster, as many found after the quakes in early November. Here are ways to calm workplace nerves and make sure your emergency plans are ship-shape.

Working together to keep everyone healthy at work will also help your business. Research from Christchurch shows the most important factor in a business surviving a disaster is the quality of the relationships with staff, customers and suppliers.

Communicate by text message after a major event — even though texts may take a while to arrive.

Emergency drills

Make sure everyone knows the safest place to be in an emergency, whether it’s under a desk, workbench or dropping to the ground. Talk about safety plans, including where and when to evacuate once the immediate danger has passed.

Put up a poster of what to do in an earthquake where everyone can see it, eg in the staff kitchen or on toilet doors. A poster with big illustrations is a good idea.